Fort Pulaski National Monument

Right now we're looking at tides getting up to about 9.5 feet.

Tuesday around that 5 o'clock high tide at Fort Pulaski.

And then Wednesday evening high tide at 6 p.m. at Fort Pulaski as well, expected to be 9.5. That is the threshold for when coastal flooding potentially starts.

So maybe some coastal flooding.

Yeah, and it would probably be brief if it's just kind of on that threshold.

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Also trending this morning, of course, a big event over the weekend in Grand Rapids, Pulaski Days, celebrating the Polish culture of so many.

But I wanna point out Ray and Julie Watkowski, who celebrated their 54th year of performing together at Pulaski Days.

Oh, really?

Isn't that incredible?

And the dress up, the fit was fantastic.

Man.

Uh, by the way, if you're, uh, ever in the Greater Savannah area and you go to Fort Pulaski, it's the same Pulaski, just so you know.

And the castle then morphs into the artillery fortress.

And then in the American Civil War, with the arrival of rifled cannon, which blow, uh, Fort Pulaski to bits in, uh, Savannah, Georgia, in 1862, in 48 hours, a castle that was supposed to be unbreachable, a, a fortress that supposed to be unbreachable.

After this, you see photos from the end of the American Civil War, and it looks like the Western Front of the First World War because that's the direction of travel for warfare.

And then we enter the nuclear age, and we're, you know, fort- fortifying and castle building starts to go down and down and down and down and down because the, the safest place from modern weaponry in its, its fullest expression is underground.

I told them the history of my adventure by the Isle of Hope, and they were astonished.

They said the only way was by the river to Fort Pulaski, fourteen miles from Savannah.

The question was where to get a boat.

They were known in Savannah, and their movements would be watched.

For more information, visit jameshardie.com/hardiebacker

jameshardie.com/hardiebackerAll that saved us was that the pickets had fires lighted and were looking at them, and our oars and oarlocks being muffled, they did not hear or see us.

It was very dark when we struck the mouth of the Savannah, and whereabouts Fort Pulaski lay we knew not, but we kept pulling until halted by a soldier of the 144th New York Infantry who was guarding the place at that time.

We were ordered to pull in, which we did, and were taken up to the commanding officer and questioned.

I told them the history of my adventure by the Isle of Hope, and they were astonished.

They said the only way was by the river to Fort Pulaski, fourteen miles from Savannah.

The question was where to get a boat.

They were known in Savannah, and their movements would be watched.

I don't know how we ever passed safely over the torpedoes and by the pickets, which latter were within forty yards of us all the way along until we reached Pulaski.

All that saved us was that the pickets had fires lighted and were looking at them, and our oars and oar locks being muffled, they did not hear or see us.

It was very dark when we struck the mouth of the Savannah, and whereabouts Fort Pulaski lay we knew not, but we kept pulling until halted by a soldier of the 144th New York Infantry who was guarding the place at that time.

We were ordered to pull in, which we did, and were taken up to the commanding officer and questioned.

A quick connection story.

We were touring Fort Pulaski outside of Savannah, Georgia recently.

Park Ranger there chatted her up.

She had her MA from WVU in public histories programs.

The real naval theater unfolded in October when the Franco-American fleet engaged in what historians call the Siege of Savannah.

British defenses included artillery emplacements along the river and fortified forts like Fort Pulaski.

Meanwhile, the French used a flotilla of frigates to provide cover for troop landings.

But the clash was as much political as tactical.